Collinwood football coach Michael Statom resigns

Michael Statom resigned after 13 years as Collinwood's football coach to become an assistant at Deshler, a Class 4A school in Alabama.

He also will be the Tigers' head middle school coach.

Statom, 46, went 97-61 in two stints at Collinwood, including nine playoff appearances.

Jake Linville, a former Collinwood quarterback who went on to play safety at Memphis, coaches Deshler.

"A good friend of mine, Jake Linville, used to be over in West Tennessee for several years at Covington and he is from Collinwood, and we've always kept in contact over the years," Statom said. "Deshler is a perennial powerhouse and they have a long tradition. We still go to church in the (Muscle) Shoals area."

Statom's first stint as coach was in 1991 and he served as assistant coach for eight years after that. He didn't have any full-time assistants with the Trojans.

"Michael's wife is from the (Deshler) area," Collinwood athletic director Brian Crews said. "They actually lived there before they came back to Collinwood and moved up here. She used to teach in that school system several years ago. He feels like some doors are opening up for him and his family – can't blame him for that. That's part of it."

Collinwood went 2-8 last season. The Trojans don't have much time to find a new coach with the first day of practice coming up July 28.

Crews said Collinwood hopes to name a new coach by July 16.

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